Digital Commerce: Shift Online Gives Birth To New Unicorns & Massively Boosts Marketplaces

• Digital Commerce M&A more selective in second half of 2020, but number of deals still growing year-on-year  
• Second half of 2020 saw record $117 billion in disclosed transaction value in sector
• Sector saw record 20 transactions worth $1 billion or more
 

London, UK – 1 February 2021.The latest Digital Commerce M&A report from Hampleton Partners shows a strong but selective M&A market in 2020, with the number of Digital Commerce deals seeing only moderate growth year-on-year despite Covid-19 driving the mass digitalisation of consumer habits. The space saw 1,541 deals closed in 2020 vs. 1,442 in 2019 – representing 7 per cent growth.  

The Digital Commerce sector did see a phenomenal $117 billion in disclosed transaction value, though $40 billion of this can be attributed to S&P Global and IHS Markit’s merger in November 2020.

Median disclosed transaction value over the past 30 months came in at around $23 million.

Ralph Hübner, Sector Principal, said: “Reasons behind these interesting figures are many and varied.

“Some traditional incumbents are focusing on core business and can’t afford to budget for corporate development. Some incumbents benefited hugely from the shift to digital and were so busy scrambling to keep up with their organic growth, they didn’t have the bandwidth for inorganic growth.

“Importantly, differences between the first and second half of 2020 in terms of deal count can be attributed to Covid-19 affecting M&A timeframes. Deals that closed in early 2020 were already well underway in 2019. Autumn deals were scarcer, perhaps, because fewer M&A processes were kickstarted when the outbreak began. Additionally, many deals which had already begun in 2019 or 2020 saw their closing phases delayed.”

Marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart scored their best year in over a decade. Sellers on Amazon marketplace sold $295 billion worth of products, up from $200 billion in 2019. Its gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 42 per cent from $335 billion in 2019 to $475 billion in 2020.

Fundraises also continued apace, giving birth to many new e-commerce unicorn including Attentive, the mobile messaging platform; d-local, the payments platform for emerging markets; or Gousto, the online meal kit company.

But the fundraising landscape is now almost exclusively focused on later-stage funding: the share of Series E and beyond rounds has grown from 4 per cent in 2016 to 16 per cent in 2020, while the share of seed rounds has declined from 44 per cent in 2016 to 16 per cent in 2020.

Ralph Hübner continued: “We expect to witness ever-larger fundraises – particularly for strong growth cases that are later-stage.

“Investors are planning potential returns in three to four years’ time, so will prioritise proven digital commerce companies and services that deliver the true needs of the digital economy, bypassing newer, unproven D2C brands.”

Ralph Hübner added: “Beyond the successes of blockbuster fundraises, stellar IPOs and marketplace booms, the Digital Commerce technology M&A market is at an interesting crossroads.

“Looking forward, we expect the number of deals to increase over the next 18 months. More players than ever before need a partner or investor to support their growth and acquirers are used to ‘the new normal’ in M&A – running virtual meetings and seeing M&A processes unravel remotely.

“D2C will continue to be the dominant business model over the next two to three years, so digital commerce companies focused on consumer management, customer engagement, after-sales service, logistics, last-mile fulfilment will get more M&A attention over the next months and years.”

Hampleton’s Digital Commerce M&A report analyses transactions, trends and activity across the following segments: Internet Services & Portals; Online Retail; Media, Social & Gaming, Agencies & Service Providers; and Digital Commerce Software.

Download the full Hampleton Partners’ Digital Commerce M&A Market Report 1H2021: https://www.hampletonpartners.com/reports/digital-commerce-report/

ENDS

Jane Henry
Marylebone Marketing
jane (at) marylebonemarketing.com
+44 789 666 8155

Note to Editors:

Hampleton Partners’ M&A Market Reports are compiled using data and information from the 451 Research database (www.451research.com), CapitalIQ, a product of S&P Global; CBInsights; and MarketPlace Pulse.

Hampleton Partners is at the forefront of international mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance advisory for companies with technology at their core. Hampleton’s experienced deal makers have built, bought and sold over 100 fast-growing tech businesses and provide hands-on expertise and unrivalled advice to tech entrepreneurs and companies which are looking to accelerate growth and maximise value.

With offices in London, Frankfurt, Stockholm and San Francisco, Hampleton offers a global perspective with sector expertise in: Artificial Intelligence, Autotech, Cybersecurity, Digital Commerce, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, HR Tech, Insurtech and IT & Business Services. 

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